Tonight's game between the Celtics and Bulls will have a major role in who is the IST Eastern Conference Group C champion. The Bulls will be the Group C champion if they beat the Celtics and the Hawks beat the Cavaliers on Friday night since they own the tiebreaker over Atlanta based on their head-to-head victory. A victory over Chicago plus a Cleveland victory over Atlanta would give the Celtics the Group C championship since we own the tiebreaker against Cleveland after handing them their first loss of the season.Neemias Queta said:
Does any of this matter? In a general sense, I hope not--as Neemie said, we strive for excellence every time we step on the court. Whether it's the IST or not, wins are what matter on the way to banner 19 and that likely means treating all 82 games as paths to the Larry O'Brien trophy with the IST trophy as an afterthought. But I do think there is an extra motivation for the players--the money certainly doesn't hurt, and there sure seems to be at least subconscious buy-in on the importance of the tourney.
Having KP back is a huge boost. Against the Clippers, we saw a season-high eleven blocked shots, and while KP had two of them, his presence in the post requires opponents to play differently. This was such a welcome change from the downright crappy rim protection we displayed against the Wizards, a team so hapless that they had no business keeping the game as close as they did. More of that tonight should help us improve to 9-1 on the road, and sink the Bulls down to 2-7 at home.
Injuries
BOS - Luke Kornet (PROBABLE - hamstring)
CHI - Patrick Williams (OUT - foot), Coby White (QUESTIONABLE - wrist), Dalen Terry (QUESTIONABLE - ankle), Jalen Smith (QUESTIONABLE - ankle), and Lonzo Ball (PROBABLE - wrist).
8:00p EST tip. NBC Sports Boston/Chicago Sports Network/NBA League Pass. 98.5 FM in Boston, 670 AM in Chicago, SiriusXM 214. WIN.
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